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Reducing Chronic Absence:
What Will It Take?
An overview of why it matters and
key ingredients for improving
student attendance
Hedy Chang, Director
Spring 2014
www.attendanceworks.org
Unpacking Attendance Terms
Average
Daily
Attendance
• The % of enrolled students who attend school each day.
It is used in some states for allocating funding.
Truancy
• Typically refers only to unexcused absences and is defined
by each state under No Child Left Behind. It signals the
potential need for legal intervention under state
compulsory education laws.
Chronic
Absence
• Missing 10% or more of school for any reason -- excused,
unexcused, etc. It is an indication that a student is
academically at risk due to missing too much school
starting in Kindergarten.
2
High Levels of ADA Can Mask
Chronic Absence
90% and even 95% ≠ A
Chronic Absence For 6 Elementary Schools
in Oakland, CA with @ 95% ADA in 2012
30%
30%
25%
26%
25%
20%
15%
10%
Chronic Absence for 6 Schools in New
York City with 90% ADA in 2011-12
12%
13%
13%
15%
16%
20%
20%
20%
A
B
C
21%
23%
20%
15%
7%
10%
5%
5%
0%
0%
A
B
C
D
% Chronic Absence
E
F
D
E
F
% Chronic Absence
98% ADA = little chronic absence
95% ADA = don’t know
93% ADA = significant chronic absence
3
Truancy (unexcused absences)
Can Also Mask Chronic Absence
Number of Chronically Absent
Versus Chronically Truant Students
San Francisco Unified School District
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
K
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
# chronic absentees - 2010-2011
# students missing 10 days unexcused (as of May 16th 2011)
4
Sporadic – Not Just Consecutive –
Absences Matter
New York City Schools (2008)
•
A 407 alert is issued when a student misses 10 consecutive days or 20 days over a
40 day period. It misses more sporadic absence.
•
1 out of 5 elementary school children were chronically absent.
Source: Nauer, K. et al, Strengthening Schools by Strengthening Families, Center for New York City
Affairs New School, Oct 2008
5
Chronic Absence:
A Hidden National Crisis
 Nationwide, as many as 10-15% of students (7.5 million)
miss nearly a month of school every year. That’s 135
million days of lost time in the classroom.
 In some cities, as many as one in four students are
missing that much school.
 Chronic absenteeism is a red alert that students are
headed for academic trouble and eventually for dropping
out of high school.
 Poor attendance isn’t just a problem in high school. It can
start as early as kindergarten and pre-kindergarten.
6
The Campaign for
Grade-Level Reading
The Campaign for Grade-Level Reading is focusing
on three challenges to reading success that are
amenable to community solutions:
•
The Readiness Gap: Too many children from
low-income families begin school already far
behind.
•
The Attendance Gap (Chronic Absence): Too
many children from low-income families miss
too many days of school.
•
The Summer Slide (Summer Learning Loss): Too
many children lose ground over the summer
months.
7
8
Starting in preK, chronic absence affects learning and
school readiness. Attendance matters most for the
children who enter the farthest behind.
Analyses control for prior preschool experience, race, gender, neighborhood poverty and social status, special education status, ELL status, and
program type. Missing data points represent values with fewer than 30 students.
9
Students with more years of chronic absenteeism,
starting in preK have lower 2nd grade scores
Some risk
At risk
* Indicates that scores are significantly different from scores of students who are never chronically absent, at p<.05 level; **p<.01;
***p<.001
Students Chronically Absent in Kindergarten and
1st Grade are Much Less Likely to Read Proficiently
in 3rd Grade
Percent Students Scoring Proficient or Advanced on 3rd Grade ELA
Based on Attendance in Kindergarten and in 1st Grade
100%
80%
64%
60%
43%
41%
40%
17%
20%
0%
No attendance risks
No risk
Small risk
Moderate risk
High risk
Small attendance risks
Moderate attendance risks
High attendance risks
Missed less than 5% of school in K & 1st
Missed 5-9% of days in both K & 1st
Missed 5-9% of days in 1 year &10 % in 1 year
Missed 10% or more in K & 1st
Source: Applied Survey Research & Attendance Works (April 2011)
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The Long-Term Impact of Chronic Kindergarten
Absence is Most Troubling for Poor Children
5th Grade Math and Reading performance by K attendance for children living In poverty.
Academic performance was lower even if attendance had improved in 3rd grade.
Average Academic Performance
52
50
48
46
Reading
Math
44
42
40
0-3.3% in K
3.3 - 6.6% in K
6.6-10.0% in K
>=10.0% in K
Absence Rate in Kindergarten
Source: ECLS-K data analyzed by National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP)
Note: Average academic performance reflects results of direct cognitive assessments conducted
for ECLS-K.
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Multiple Years of Elementary Chronic Absence
= Worse Middle School Outcomes
Each year of chronic absence in elementary school is associated with
a substantially higher probability of chronic absence in 6th grade
18.0x
Increase in
probability of
6th grade
chronic
absence
Chronic absence in 1st
grade is also associated
with:
7.8x
5.9x
•
•
Lower 6th grade test
scores
Higher levels of
suspension
Years of Chronic Absence in Grades 1-5
Oakland Unified School District SY 2006-2012, Analysis By Attendance Works
12
The Effects of Chronic Absence on
Dropout Rates Are Cumulative
With every year of
chronic
absenteeism, a
higher percentage
of students
dropped out of
school.
http://www.utahdataalliance.org/downloads/ChronicAbsenteeismResearchBrief.pdf
13
Poor Attendance Is A Problem Across Income;
But Even More Important For Students In Poverty
Presentation to: The Interagency Council for Ending the Achievement
Gap November 7, 2013, CT State Dept of Education.
14
Emerging data suggests good
attendance = more success in college
Student Attendance and Postsecondary Success in
Pittsburgh Public Schools
(Source: Pittsburgh Public Schools)
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
55-60
60-65
Graduation Rate
65-70
70-75
75-80
80-85
85-90
90-95
95-100
9th Grade Attendance Rate
Postsecondary Enrollment Rate
Postsecondary Persistence Rate
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Why Are Students Chronically Absent?
Myths
Absences are only a
problem if they are
unexcused
Sporadic versus
consecutive absences
aren’t a problem
Attendance only
matters in the older
grades
Barriers
Aversion
Child struggling
academically
Lack of access to
health care
Lack of engaging
instruction
Poor
transportation
Poor school climate
and ineffective school
discipline
No safe path to school
Parents had negative
school experience
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Going to School Every Day Reflects…
Hope
for a better future
+
Faith
that school will help you or your child succeed
+
Capacity
Resources, skills, knowledge needed to get to school
17
Universal Strategies for Building a Culture of
Attendance & Identifying Barriers
18
Increased Attendance Involves a 3-Tiered
Approach that Fits with Most Reform Efforts
Students who were chronically
absent in prior year or
starting to miss 20%
or more of school
Students at risk for
chronic absence
All students
in the school
High
Cost
Recovery
Programs
Intervention
Programs
Universal/Preventive
Programs
A small fraction
of a school’s
students
Some
of a school’s
students
All of
a school’s
students
Low
Cost
19
Variation Across Schools Helps Identify
Good Practice and Need for Intervention
Chronic Absence Levels Among Oakland Public Schools
(2009-10)
20
Ingredients for System-wide
Success & Sustainability
District
Community
Conveys why building a
habit of attendance is
important and what
chronic absence is
Positive
Messaging
Schools
Actionable
Data
Is accurate, accessible,
and regularly reported
Students
& Families
Ensures monitoring &
incentives to address
chronic absence
Shared
Accountability
Capacity
Building
Strategic partnerships between
district and community partners
address specific attendance
barriers and mobilize support for
all ingredients
Expands ability to
interpret data and work
together to adopt best
practices
21
The Superintendents Call to Action
Own the
Issue
Mobilize
the
Community
Drive With
Data
To sign-up for the Call to Action, or to learn more, please visit:
www.attendanceworks.org/superintendents-call-to-action
22
Using September to Promote
Attendance Awareness
http://www.attendanceworks.org/attendancemonth/
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Key Messages
Key Message #1: Good attendance helps children
do well in school and eventually in the work place.
24
Key Messages
Key Message #2: Absences add up. Excused and
unexcused absences result in too much time lost in
the classroom.
25
Key Messages
Key Message #3: Chronic absence, missing 10
percent of the school year or more, affects the whole
classroom, not just the students who miss school.
26
Key Messages
Key Message #4: We need to monitor how many days
each student misses school for any reason — excused,
unexcused or suspensions — so we can intervene early.
27
Key Messages
Key Message #5: Chronic absence is a problem we
can solve when the whole community, including
parents and schools, gets involved.
28
Key Messages
Key Message #6: Relationship building is
fundamental to any strategy for improving student
attendance.
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Key Messages
Key Message #7: Reducing chronic absence can
help close achievement gaps.
% Chronically Absent Students By Ethnicity
2011-12 School Year
% of Active Students
30%
25%
African
American
20%
Asian
15%
Latino
10%
5%
White
0%
K
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Grade Level
30
Chronic Absence =
The Warning Light On A Car Dashboard
The Parallels
• Ignore it at your
personal peril!
• Address early or
potentially pay more
(lots more) later.
• The key is to ask why
is this blinking? What
could this mean?
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Attendance Works
Hedy Chang, Director
[email protected]
Cecelia Leong, Associate Director
[email protected]
Phyllis Jordan, Communications Lead
[email protected]
301.656.0348
Sue Fothergill, Senior Policy Fellow
[email protected]
Elise Dizon-Ross, Manager, Research & Development
[email protected]
www.attendanceworks.org